Weekend highlights

Driving to NJ Friday would've been fine had there not been that major construction before the bridge... half an hour to go 4 miles is frustrating. OTOH, the Palisades Parkway was practically deserted, which was good: I finally arrived just as the 18 minutes were starting. At least I got to see bolts of lightning across the sky somewhere in CT.

I visited with my friends from Evanston, at her mom's house. Got to see the whole family, too, except her brother, off traveling in Africa. I haven't seen some of them in ages, so it was particularly nice. The kids are bigger, T has glasses (the kind that hooks all the way over the ears, so they're less likely to fall off as her 3-year-old self explores the world), R has started to read, and A has become strong and flexible (lifting his younger brother using only his hands and feet, 2/3 of his weight...).

As usual with them, I stayed up far far far too late talking. Shabbat was home-based, especially with the humid heat that even downpours in the afternoon didn't interrupt.

Saturday night included going to a late screening of Blood Work, which I thought rather predictable for plot, and unbelievable for the romantic stuff. Not really worth seeing in the theater (though the seats were really nice, cushy an d tall, with raisable arms); a video rental, at best. Then back to the house and finishing the Saturday NY Times crossword puzzle, a collaborative effort. And I finally figured out how to get voice mail on my cell phone.

Hard to get up Sunday morning from the lack of sleep. Drove to New Haven, where we met up for lunch at Claire's (the polenta and the summer salad were both particularly yummy). (I was pleased that I'd managed to find my way there with little difficulty, given that I'd been there twice, over five years ago.) Finally home again, in the egregious heat that was supposed to have gone already.... My friends opted for a hotel in the end, since my apt was still so bloody hot. Ah, well. We had a good dinner at Taam China (the highlight of this meal for me was having the scallion ginger chicken, and dis covering that their "ravioli" are the dumplings I sometimes crave).

Some days

Some days, it is so easy to write about small amusing incidents, or how the world looks through me-colored glasses (as it were), or quirky thoughts, or well-thought-out rants, or almost anything. Everything flows, and sometimes I even find out new things about myself as it does.

The other days wait, though, the days of not enough sleep night after night, of stupid food choices making the lack of sleep worse, and it's impossible to write about anything interesting, since nothing seems interesting at all. Things are flat, not because anything is bad, but because there is no energy.

Really, the best thing would be to go get some sleep. Naps are iffy, though. Will there be enough time for me to drift off to sleep and not be concerned with waking up in time for the next thing (if not, the sleep will be of poor quality, and I will wake up muzzy and cranky and having drooled, of course). Is it too hot or too bright to sleep (see above). Is there too much I think I should be doing, though I know that there's nothing I really would be doing, since all I can actually accomplish is sleep. Etc. A nap helps, but a solid night's sleep, actually being asleep at a reasonable hour (not reading in bed until sometime I'd rather not know when it is), is so much better.

When I'm tired, I not only have a shorter fuse towards crankiness, I am also more boring and flat.

I hope getting together with friends will distract me from thinking about it this way, and perhaps that will be enough to change things...
i